By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – Some say a proposed measure meant to keep the Clinton and Quad Cities power plants open is nothing more than a multi-billion dollar bailout for the nuclear industry.
State Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, said it’s better than the alternative.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott’s interview with Barickman on WJBC.
“You are damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” Barickman said. “If you close them, the rates go up. If you try to keep them open it’s going to result in a slight rate increase on users.”
Barickman said he’s optimistic a deal could pass through both the House and Senate before the legislature adjourns on Thursday.
Much of the focus in the final days of the legislative session has been on saving Exelon’s nuclear plants in Clinton and the Quad Cities, so the clock is ticking on a budget deal.
Barickman has been on a working group that’s trying to come up with school funding solution. He wonders if it’s going to be back to the drawing board.
“We thought we got it to a point where it could get done but it didn’t,” Barickman said. “I think some of us are thinking about how we might go back through that again. It’s about encouraging your leaders to find some common ground. We have tried to create some paths for them. ”
A temporary budget expires in a month.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
